Kenya Legalizes Polygamy

Kenya has officially legalized polygamy and men can now marry as many wives as they want. President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the bill into law and many are quite happy about the idea. It seems they've been talking about doing this for a long time as Kenya has 42 tribes and many do not put a cap on the number of wives a man can marry, at least so long as he can afford it. 

Kenyan lawyer Judy Thongori who is a supporter of the law says the Marriage Act 2014 is long overdue and has more positive than negative attributes. She says the number of women a man can marry depends on the traditions of his tribe. Thongori said previous laws governing marriages and unions were made by British colonialists before Kenya gained independence in 1963 and did not capture the value systems of the indigenous populations. 

Polygamy is common in Kenya, especially for those who can afford to maintain multiple wives. Nationwide, an estimated 1.8 million women and 700,000 men are classed as living in polygamous relationships. In many cases a man will have one legal wife, married in a lavish church ceremony and registered with the state, while subsequent wives are married in traditional tribal ceremonies. The new law has provoked a fierce national debate pitting modern secular values and Christianity against local traditions. Opponents say it threatens family values in a Christian-majority country, with female deputies also arguing that it also undermines women's rights. Supporters, however, argue that the bill merely recognizes multiple customary unions which are still common in many Kenyan communities. 

Apparently polygamy is a "value system" in Kenya as it seems monogamy must be a "value system" in Great Britain and the US and I guess most if not all of the rest of the nearly 200 civilized countries of the world. Wait a go, Kenya! I guess.